Forgotten Family Relationships: How Incarcerated Brothers Experience Sibling Support

ABSTRACT Objective We explore how incarcerated brothers experience support from their non‐incarcerated siblings. Background Sibling incarceration is the most common type of family member incarceration, with more than one‐quarter of U.S. adults enduring a sibling's incarceration (and, most commonly, a brother's incarceration). Despite the prevalence of sibling incarceration and the importance of sibling relationships throughout the life course, little is known about sibling support in the context of incarceration from the receiver's perspective (or other family members' perspectives). Method We use longitudinal in‐depth interviews with 122 incarcerated adult brothers and 69 of their mothers to explore how system‐impacted families negotiate non‐incarcerated sibling support. Results We find that incarcerated brothers and their mothers describe navigating four types of sibling support: (1) unconditional, intrinsic support to incarcerated brothers and other family members shaped by cultural expectations of family reliance; (2) mediated, reluctant support to incarcerated brothers prompted by mothers; (3) disengaged, infrequent support to incarcerated brothers due to constraints and/or to protect themselves; and (4) absent, no support to incarcerated brothers because siblings have grown tired of their brothers cycling through the criminal legal system. Conclusion We advance scholarship on criminal legal contact and family life by documenting how incarcerated brothers experience support from their non‐incarcerated siblings and highlight the considerable and enduring consequences of incarceration for the entire family system.